Heston Russell: A War Hero And A Fitness Enthusiast

Heston Russell joined the Australian Army at the age of 17, following a family tradition. After completing his studies at the Australian Defence Academy, Heston graduated in History and Indonesian from the University of New South Wales. In 2006, he graduated from the Royal Military College of Duntroon and was assigned to his first position as Platoon Commander in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR), where he served in peacekeeping operations in East Timor.

In 2010, Heston completed the highly competitive selection of the Special Forces, becoming a Qualified Command Officer in the 2nd º Command Regiment (2 CDO REGT), of the Special Operations Command - Australia (SOCOMD). Heston held the positions of Command Platoon Commander, Deputy Company Executive Officer while at 2 CDO REGT. Participated in three operational deployments in Afghanistan and the Middle East, in addition to providing operational support service to various domestic counterterrorism operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Heston was assigned to serve in the United States Special Operations Command in 2015, including an additional operational deployment in the Middle East. After returning to Australia in 2016, he was promoted to Major appointed Commander of the Special Forces Training Centre. After that, he completed the last operational deployment in Iraq as a Joint Special Operations Planner within the Joint Special Operations Task Force.

After his military career, Heston led the expansion of the American fitness brand Barry's Bootcamp to Australia and Singapore. In 2020, he founded Voice Of A Veteran, a platform to better support the veteran community and promote changes in government systems designed to support veterans. Heston also launched, led and supported several successful campaigns in favour of veterans.

Currently, Heston Russell is focussed on his organisation, the Veteran Support Force (VSG.org.au), which aims to actively support veterans and their families during the conduct of the Royal Commission on Defence and Veterans Subsidy.

In addition to all this, Heston is an experienced speaker, addressing topics such as leadership, culture, courage, diversity, emotional intelligence and mental health.